‘You kind of forgive but you never forget’: Questions remain decades after Henribourg woman’s death

“We told the bartender we’d be right back. We were just running to Paddockwood and we’d be right back,” she said.

Leduc who was sitting in the middle between her two friends recalled the weather that night included drizzling rain, and it was very dark. At one point they came to an intersection and noticed two large logs blocking a portion of the road. Jackie drove around the logs, commenting how they would stop on the way back and move them.

“I remember crossing the bridge and all of a sudden it was just a black hole,” Leduc said, adding what happened next was almost a blur.

“I remember I turned to her and I said [Lavoie’s] name and she said something and that was like in one second,” she said.

Photos taken by investigators at the time of the crash. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Leduc, who said the crash felt like “hitting a brick a wall,” was knocked unconscious by the impact and when she came to, saw her friend and fellow passenger Lori pulling her out of the vehicle. Leduc’s feet were stuck but fortunately she was able to squirm free. She and Lori climbed to safety.

“I knew my face was bleeding because I spit out my tooth,” she said.

Still suffering from shock, Leduc and Lori then went to look for help, not knowing their friend Lavoie was already dead. Leduc even said in her statement later to police she thought she heard Lavoie crying. The pair were forced to walk about a mile down the road before finding someone.

“We told them there was another girl in the car and their son went to look. When he came back, he said she was fine, but he just said that for our benefits I guess because she wasn’t fine,” Leduc said.

Both women were taken to hospital shortly after. Leduc learned she suffered two broken feet, a broken cheek bone, and had multiple cuts on her face, including one that ran from her mouth to her neck. She spent the next two weeks in hospital recovering and even to this day is amazed how she and her friend were able to walk the distance they did.

“It didn’t hurt; we needed to get help for Jackie and that was what was on our minds,” she said.

Leduc said she has no doubt the accident could have prevented, noting there were no ribbons or signs warning of the danger. It seemed strange she said as just one week prior, Leduc’s father travelled the road on his way to an auction, and said there was a sign forcing him to take another route.

“They had to get out and they actually had to read the sign because it was just on paper and it was written down ‘Road closed,'” Leduc said.

Noting how the Meath Park school grad was held the night prior to the crash, Leduc said she believes someone decided to remove the sign as a prank.

“Everybody knows everybody in a small town,” she said “It was someone that probably knew us and since Jackie passed away, they were probably scared, which anybody would have been.”

When asked if she thought the person responsible may ever come forward, Leduc replied no, adding she thought if the information was to come out, someone would have said it after the first few years.

“You kind of forgive but you never forget. It’s been a long time and I can imagine what they must feel like. They must feel terrible but what do you do?” Leduc asked.

The family

Jackie’s mother Eveline Lavoie, who now resides at Herb Bassett Home, has kept detailed records of every letter and report she received since the accident. The amassed amount of information now occupies two large binders, which are each close to six inches thick. One of her ongoing concerns all these years later, she said, is the feeling RCMP investigators may not have completed a thorough investigation. She claimed she suggested several people to them who should be interviewed, but her recommendations went unheeded.

“I know they didn’t let one [officer] do what he wanted to do. He told us his hands were tied,” she said.

When asked what she might say to the person or persons responsible for moving the sign, Eveline said she and her family would just like to know why they did what they did.

“Tell the truth. Those things didn’t happen by itself. Somebody did that,” she said, adding the R.M. should also have been held accountable.

“The hole could have been fixed before that happened,” she said.

A photo of the washout days prior to the crash. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

The investigation

The provincial coroner confirmed the official cause of Jackie’s death to be exsanguination (blood loss) from a ruptured aorta — a result of the impact from the steering wheel on Jackie’s chest. Despite reports Jackie attended the Henribourg bar earlier that night, the toxicology report showed her blood alcohol content was just .02.

When paNOW inquired with RCMP about the current status of the crash investigation, spokesperson Jessica Cantos confirmed the investigation is ongoing.

“We continue to follow any leads or tips we become aware of. To date there have been no charges laid,” she said.

paNOW has also attempted to reach out to representatives from the R.M., but no one was available for comment.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

‘You kind of forgive but you never forget’: Questions remain decades after Henribourg woman’s death

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